1. Field of the Invention
The invention herein relates to therapeutic medications. More particularly it relates to therapeutic nasal sprays.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium) is an herb in the Compositae family which has long been known to have therapeutic properties; see Bremness, (ed.), HERBS (1990), pp. 91, 185-186 and Castleman, THE HEALING HERBS (1991), pp. 173-176. At various times feverfew has been considered to have therapeutic properties for reducing high blood pressure, acting as a digestive tract antispasmodic, relieving menstrual cramps and, most importantly, relieving migraine headaches. It has been administered as the raw feverfew leaf, either fresh or frozen, which is taken by chewing or by swallowing pills or capsules in which the feverfew is incorporated. It has also been administered as a tea with a concentration of 0.5-1 teaspoonfuls of feverfew per cup of boiling water, and which is drunk after the tea has steeped for 5-10 minutes.
Such delivery systems have had significant problems. Raw feverfew leaves are bitter and therefore unpleasant to chew and the tea is unpleasant to drink. It has also been documented that raw feverfew leaves can cause oral ulcers or other irritation to the buccal membranes or mucous lining of the mouth. Therefore, when leaves are to be chewed, it has been recommended that they be chewed in combination with a larger quantity of an innocuous foodstuff, commonly slices of bread. The general use of feverfew in the form of capsules or pills has been an attempt to avoid the buccal irritation and ulcers and the bitter taste of the herb.
Administration of feverfew by swallowing of the chewed material, drinking of tea, or swallowing of capsules and pills means that the feverfew [and its apparent active ingredient, parthenolide; see The Burton Goldberg Group, (eds.), ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE; THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE (1995), p. 264] must be released and dispersed to the central nervous system or other affected organs through the gastrointestinal system. Such administration is slow and relatively inefficient. Consequently, the therapeutic effects of feverfew will not be quickly available to the person to whom the herb has been administered. This has been particularly significant in the treatment of migraine headaches. The severe effects of migraine headache on a person have been extensively and frequently documented, and delayed relief unnecessarily extends the period of the sufferer's discomfort.
Nasal sprays have heretofore been commercially available for moisturization of the nasal membranes. Such sprays normally are water containing surfactants to spread the water over the nasal membranes and enhance the penetration of the water into the surface layers of the membranes. There is no therapeutic function of the water penetration.
Nasal sprays or drops have also been known for relief of migraine headache, using conventional chemicals. For instance, nasal sprays or drops containing dihydroergotamine, sumatriptan succinate or lidocaine have variously been reported, used commercially or used investigationally.
Clustered water (or nanocluster resonant water) is the name given to water molecules associated in a unique physical structure. Various embodiments of clustered water have been identified in recent years. They can be artificially produced by subjecting quantities of water to strong magnetic fields; see, for instance, Lorenzen, NANOCLUSTERED SOLUTIONS AS A SUPPORT BASE TO OPTIMIZE COHERENT CELLULAR COMMUNICATION (1995). Clustered water samples have been shown by NMR spectroscopy and other types of analyses to have different freezing points, pH levels, surface tensions and electrical conductivity values than conventional distilled tap or colloidal water. In cellular organic systems it is believed that the presence of clustered water will alter cellular resonance and influence internal chemical and enzymatic reactions. The water clusters can be directed to bind to pharmacological active substances and thus enhance the pharmacological activity of such substances in cells.